Little Pied Cormorant
Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cormorants and Shags

Little Pied Cormorant

Microcarbo melanoleucos

LCLeast Concern
Family
Cormorants and Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
Order
Suliformes

Overview

The little pied cormorant, little shag or little pied shag (Microcarbo melanoleucos) (Māori: kawaupaka) is a common species of Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Timor-Leste and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently, most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.